The Best Screen Recorders for Windows 10

Here’s a summary table that’ll help you choose the best screen recorder for Windows 10. You can also check the detailed description of each program to make a final decision.

One of the best ways to record a screen on Windows 10 is to use a desktop program. It provides high quality output and offers a wide range of recording features. You can record screen and audio simultaneously, which is convenient for making video tutorials and presentations.

On the other hand, the majority of desktop programs have a long launch process compared with online tools. Here’s a list of the best recorders that capture video with sound. Check them out and learn how to record a video on Windows 10.

Best for: recording separate streams

OS: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11; Mac OS Х 10.13 or later

Price: free trial, $47.95 for the full version

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 44 reviews

Movavi Screen Recorder is a simple yet powerful screen recording program. It captures your screen, system sounds from your laptop, voice from your microphone, and webcam images.

The desktop recorder has a wide range of settings that will expand your options for creating educational videos. For example, you can highlight cursor clicks or display your keyboard. It’s useful for recording video tutorials on using specific programs.

You can also schedule your recordings. This is a favorite feature of anyone who frequently records webinars and streaming videos.

The recorder provides a wide choice of export formats including MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, GIF, MP3, PNG, BMP, and JPG. One more benefit is that you can record screen and audio Windows 10 and many other OS.

Advantages of Movavi Screen Recorder:

• Multifunctionality

• Simple interface

• Many output formats

• Useful settings for making video tutorials

Disadvantages of the program:

• There’s a watermark in the free version.

Best for: creating professional video clips

OS: Windows 8.1, 10, 11; macOS 10.13 or later

Price: Free

TechRadar rating: 4 out of 5 stars

OBS is free software that is highly regarded by professional video creators. It allows users to set up an unlimited number of scenarios and custom transitions to seamlessly link them. When it comes to audio, users can also benefit from the audio mixer that includes a number of per-source filters including noise suppression, noise gate, and gain.

If you ask about disadvantages of the program, the first thing that comes to mind is its challenging interface. Indeed, OBS has so many settings that you risk going crazy searching for the one you want. We would not recommend starting with this program if you don’t need to make a professional-grade video clip.

Another issue is a lack of technical support.

If you're looking for software similar to OBS, check out our list of OBS alternatives.

Advantages of OBS Studio:

• Advanced video editing tools

• Free to use

Disadvantages of the recorder:

• Difficult interface

• Poor customer support

You can download OBS Studio by following the link below

Download OBS Studio

Best for: computer gameplay recording

OS: Windows 10, 11

Price: Free

To screen capture video on Windows 10, you can use the Xbox Game Bar. It’s a built-in Windows tool that is designed for recording game streaming videos. But you can also use it as a simple screen recorder.

Note that using Game Bar, you can capture only a single app. It’s not possible to record the whole desktop or file explorer. You cannot customize the capture area. The length of recording is also limited.

The program does not include any editing tools. It's basic screen and audio recorder on Windows 10.

Advantages of Game Bar:

• Requires no installation

• Simple to use

• Perfect for game recording on Windows

Disadvantages of the built-in app:

• Recording time is limited.

• No opportunity to customize the capture area size.

• No advanced recording tools.

Download Game Bar

Best for: branding your recordings

OS: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks, OS X Yosemite

Price: has free version; Pro version costs $29.95

G2 rating: 4 out of 5 stars, 21 reviews

Icecream Screen Recorder is very simple to use. The interface may look a little old-fashioned, but the program has all necessary recording tools.

The unique thing is that you can add your own logo to the recordings – a useful attribute for screencast creators and video bloggers.

The free version has strict limitations. For instance, you cannot convert the video into a different format, add a branded logo to the video, schedule a recording, and so on. The recording time is also limited to 5 minutes.

Advantages of Icecream Screen Recorder:

• You can add your branded logo to the videos.

• You can select the capture area you used last time.

Disadvantages of the program:

• Old-fashioned interface interface

• Many limitations in the free version

You can download Icecream Screen Recorder by following the link below

Download Icecream Screen Recorder

Best for: advanced video editing

OS: Windows 7, 8, 10

Price: free trial; full version costs $49

TechRadar rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Flashback Express is not just a screen recorder. It’s a fully featured video editor. But compared to OBS Studio, it has a more user-friendly interface and clearer settings.

The program has high-rated user reviews because there’s no watermark on videos in the free version. The Pro version has more advanced features, but the price is reasonable.

In addition to video editing, you can record any part of your screen. You can customize the video resolution and limit the file size before saving.

Advantages of Flashback Express:

• User-friendly interface

• Many video editing tools

Disadvantages of software:

• Some tools are available only in the paid version.

You can download Flashback Express by following the link below

Download Flashback Express

Best for: making work projects

OS: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; Mac OS X 10.9 or later

Price: free version; paid plans start with $4.00 per month

G2 rating: 4 out of 5 stars, 40 reviews

Screencast-O-Matic is a handy program for team collaboration. You can share work projects in just a few clicks. It also includes a built-in stock library to help you make more engaging content. There’s also ad-free cloud hosting where you can store your recordings and videos.

You can try Screencast-O-Matic for free but be aware that you’ll miss the majority of advanced features. To get cloud hosting or secure file backup, you have to purchase the program.

Advantages of Screencast-O-Matic:

• Tools for team collaboration

• Ad-free cloud hosting and secure file backup in the paid version

Disadvantages of the recorder:

• Limited functionality in the trial version

• Huge watermark on videos in the free version

You can download Screencast-O-Matic by following the link below

Download Screencast-O-Matic

Now let’s talk about online video grabbers. They became popular in recent years because they don’t require installation on your computer.

It’s quick to launch an online recorder. But the danger of capturing screens online is that many recording services scan your browser data, which could be seen as a security risk. Of course, this does not apply to all online recorders.

Here’s our top list of online screen recorders. Choose any one of these and you can be sure nobody will steal your data!

Best for: secure recording

OS: any (web-based)

Price: Free version; full version costs $9.95 per month

Trustpilot rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 75 reviews

Screen Capture has a simple interface and clear settings. It’s suitable even for inexperienced users because it’s obvious how to use it.

You can record any tab on your screen, including windows on your desktop. If you want to record your voice on a webcam, you can do this separately from the screen recording. This function is often used by bloggers and performers.

Screen Capture can be used in Incognito mode if you have privacy concerns. But the service guarantees that all your recordings are secure. Nobody can see your videos until you share them yourself.

The only thing you may not like about Screen Capture is the watermark on videos in the free version. To remove the watermark, you can buy a subscription which is very reasonably priced.

Advantages of Screen Capture:

• Secure recording

• Quick start to the recording process

• Webcam can be recorded separately from screen recording

Disadvantages of the online tool:

• Small watermark in the free version

Best for: online video editing

OS: any (web-based)

Price: Free

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The service from Apowersoft is a simple yet functional online recorder. It’s free of charge, and there’s no watermark on videos.

Many users like its online video editing tools. You can make a screen capture and highlight the most important information in real time. It’s a valuable feature for students who make video summaries and record educational webinars.

The only inconvenience is the need to install a special launcher to activate the recorder. But you only need to install it once, then you can use the app without limits.

Advantages of Apowersoft Screen Recorder:

• Online video editing tools

• Absolutely free to use

Disadvantages of the service:

• Long launch process

You can access Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder by following the link below

Go to the recorder’s official website

Best for: short video recording

OS: any (web-based)

Price: Free

Screenapp has a minimalist interface that is easy to understand. You can capture the screen in three ways – the entire screen, an application window, or a browser tab. It’s also possible to trim the recording before downloading to your computer.

The service has several pricing plans – basic, standard, and premium. Using the basic plan, you can capture the screen for free but there are limitations. You cannot make more than 10 recordings and 10 saves to your media library. If you want to share the video, the length cannot be more than 15 minutes.

Standard and premium plans don’t have these limitations but they are chargeable.

Advantages of Screenapp:

• Minimalist interface

• Quick launch

Disadvantages of the service:

• Free version has significant limitations

• No choice of capture area size

You can access Screenapp by following the link below

Go to the recorder’s official website

Browser extensions are very convenient when you need to make a quick screen capture and share it as fast as possible. That’s why browser extensions are so popular among remote workers. You don’t need to write emails with long explanations – just record your screen and demonstrate what you want to say.

But the significant disadvantage of all extensions is that they have more crashes and bugs than desktop and online programs. This is related to constant browser updates and changes in operating systems requirements.

Best for: online drawing on videos

Supported browsers: Google Chrome

Price: Free

Google Web Store rating: 4 out of 5 stars, 11,500+ reviews

Users: 10,000,000+

Screencastify captures your desktop, browser tab, and webcam video. You can also add voice narratives and comments on the video. In the preview window, there are simple editing tools such as trimming, merging, and cropping recordings.

But the really unique feature is an online drawing tool. You can activate the pen tool during the recording process!

Screencastify provides convenient sharing and exporting options such as uploading to cloud storage, publishing to YouTube, sharing videos via Google classroom, or saving to the desktop in MP4, GIF, or MP3.

But many users have complained that they cannot log into their account and download recordings. Another issue is that Screencastify requests private Google Drive access that could be a security concern for some people.

Advantages of Screencastify:

• Fully featured recording app

• Online drawing capability

Disadvantages of the extension:

• Failures when trying to log into your account

You can access Screencastify by following the link below

Go to the recorder’s web store page

Best for: online team collaboration

Supported browsers: Google Chrome

Price: Free

Google Web Store rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars, 10,000+ reviews

Users: 4,000,000+

Loom enables users to get a shareable link to the recording and send it right to their work messenger. It has integrations with the most popular services for team collaboration, including Gmail, Slack, Jira, and others. That’s why businesses prefer to use this extension.

You can also use it as an individual. But note that the free plan has limitations, like recording length, number of videos and screenshots, and number of content creators. To remove the restrictions, you need to buy a subscription.

Advantages of Loom:

• Opportunities for team collaboration

Disadvantages of the extension:

• Laggy audio recording

• Restrictions in the free plan

• Many crashes during internal audio recording

You can access Loom by following the link below

Go to the recorder’s web store page

Best for: making branded videos online

Supported browsers: Google Chrome

Price: Free

Google Web Store rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 14,000+ reviews

Users: 1,000,000+

We have earlier recommended Icecream Screen Recorder if you want to brand your recordings. But that was the desktop app. Nimbus’s extension offers the same opportunity – you can add your logo to the recordings.

This extension is really powerful. It has many advanced settings that even some desktop programs don’t have. You can record from screen and webcam, take screenshots, convert videos into MP4 or GIF, make recordings in different resolutions (HD, FullHD, 4K), edit your creations, and share them in one click.

But the majority of the most advanced functions are available in the Premium package only. Free users enjoy just a basic range of features.

Advantages of Nimbus Screenshot and Screen Video Recorder:

• Powerful screenshot and screen recording tool

• High rating

Disadvantages of the extension:

• Many of the most interesting features are chargeable.

You can access Nimbus by following the link below

Go to the recorder’s web store page

As we promised at the beginning, we’ll show you how to record video on PC with the Windows 10 operating system. Here’s a quick guide to how to use the online recorder but the approach is almost the same for all programs – desktop, online, or browser extension. Only the launch process differs from app to app.

We hope you found these reviews helpful. This section summarizes the most important things to consider when choosing a screen recorder for Windows 10.

• Price: Some screen recorders are free, and others offer both free and paid versions. If you want a free app, make sure it has the features you need. Does it restrict things like recording times and the number of allowed recordings? Consider another app or the PRO version if it falls short, especially if it offers a free trial period.
• User Interface: No one ever complains that a screen recorder is too easy to use. Make sure the interface is intuitive, uncluttered, and has a gentle learning curve. At the same time, check that the UI has everything you need.
• Screen recording options: Some tools only record specific areas while others capture the entire screen or both. Also, check that the app offers audio recording as well if that's important to you.
• Editing tools: Check that the program has editing tools if that matters to you. Some apps offer basic editing like join, trim, and crop. Others have built-in editors or no tools at all.
• Technical support: Who is going to be available to help you if you have a technical issue? Does the software come with a dedicated customer support team that you can reach out to by online chat or email?